1 day, 1 wine: the honey of Clos Flies blanc !

The sun was shining this weekend, but there was also a touch of gloom, and perhaps even annoyance, who knows, linked to the current situation. In short, it was time not to let ourselves get down, and a Beaune premier cru blanc Clos Flies 2016 maison Joseph Drouhin It more than satisfied us.

It's a cuvée "beacon" of this beautiful maison historic Beaune, and one could say emblematic of Burgundy; a cuvée which also has the merit of reminding us that Beaune And we are indeed talking about the appellation , produces great red Premier Crus capable of lasting for decades, even centuries, but also some very high-flying whites, foremost among which is precisely the Clos des Mouches. This 2016 was still vigorous, with substance on the palate, sap, and already those sunny notes of yellow fruit, sweet flowers, spices, and honey that characterize it. We have already had the chance to taste older vintages of the Clos Flies blanc from Joseph's Drouhin And this 2016 vintage, underestimated due to frost and the tiny harvest of the year, will go far.

Of the 25 hectares that make up the Clos of the Flies, 14 are the property of the maison Joseph from Beaune Drouhin planted at equal height in chardonnay and in pinot noir "This is one of the very first vineyards purchased by Maurice." Drouhin "during the 1920s," says Frédéric Drouhin , who currently heads the maison family. "He met with numerous owners before finally managing to acquire around forty plots. There is great diversity, ranging from young vines to 60-year-old vines. The harvest of the Clos The fly-hunting process takes place over about ten days, with a vinification dedicated to each plot. The birth of this appellation It's like several pieces of a puzzle that will come together. When you taste a batch, it's good, but not as good as when the wine has been blended and bottled. Clos Des Mouches is one of the emblematic wines of the maison which allows for the valorization of the entire production of the appellation Beaune Founded in 1880, the Maison Joseph Drouhin has been working in biodynamic agriculture for almost 20 years.

The climate

THE Clos des Mouches is located in the southern part of the vineyard of Beaune , on the edge of Pommard A bit like in the premier cru les Bressandes , the vineyards of Clos Flies progress up the hillside, in successive stages, following the walls built by the landowners. "At the top of the Clos "With the flies, you can no longer see the plain," explains Frédéric. Drouhin "It's a dome of vines, with very different sun exposure depending on the plot." At the top of the Clos The subsoil of Mouches consists of yellow calcareous marls with a sandy clay-limestone soil, particularly favorable to chardonnay Below, the presence of a quarry indicates a subsoil composed of outcropping limestone bedrock, topped by a lean clay-loam soil. "If you look at an aerial photograph from the 1940s of the hillside of Beaune "We can see quarries, which have now been filled in by human activity," adds Françoise Vannier-Petit, a geologist. "Some of the limestone present on the Clos The "des Mouches" has transformed into dolomite, which combines calcium and magnesium. The vineyard is mostly southeast-facing, with an altitude ranging from 255 to 312 meters, and fairly steep slopes.

Christophe TUPINIER

Publishing Director